There is today a desire for packages, boxes and enclosures to be designed in a unique manner and having designs which are arranged so as to attract customers, for example in the form of developing eye-catching packages for point of sales. Examples of such packages are cylindrically or elliptically shaped packages or packages having rounded sides or edges.
Presently, packaging constructions may be fabricated by carton board or various types of corrugated board. The problem with these materials is that they do not allow for packagings that are curved without encountering issues. For example, packages made of carton board or double faced corrugated board are rarely seen with rounded edges because high grammage carton board and double faced corrugated board will deform if bent to a too small radius. Carton board can be bent to some extent, but is deficient in stability compared to double faced corrugated board. Carton board does not provide the cushioning feature that a corrugated board provides.
Carton board and single faced corrugated board are deficient in stability. Because of the lack of stability, single faced corrugated board is not suitable for converting operations.
It is possible to bend corrugated board to a small extent, but the resulting tension in the board implies a risk for kinks whenever it is handled in a way which would bend it slightly more. Some of today's corrugated board may be bent into curved forms having a radius of about 400-440 mm when bent perpendicularly to the corrugated pipes.
Single faced corrugated board can be bent into a small radius, but because of the lack of stability, single faced corrugated board is not suitable for converting operations. Without having an inner lining, the performance of a box made of such material will be low (e.g. stacking strength and performance in transport). Furthermore, single faced corrugated board only has one flat side suitable for printing. The corrugated layer of the single faced corrugated board is not very representative as the outside or as the inside of a package.
Packaging that should withstand loads induced in transport, transhipment and handling need certain performance requirements. For storage and transport, it is important to have a sufficient stacking strength and a sufficient strength and stability with respect to transport related loads. A packaging's ability to withstand transport loads is here referred to as stability in transit. Furthermore, to protect the contents of the package from mechanical shocks, it is often important that the package is providing a cushioning feature. Stacking strength can be measured by a BCT test (Box compression test—ISO12048) and gives a measure of how much load the package can take on top of itself before the side panels start to deform. The level of the packages' stability in transit is possible to test in a lab environment and is also possible to test for example by loading a lorry with packages and thereafter driving around for a certain time having moments of acceleration and decelerations.
It is known in prior art that it is possible, for example by using additional material, to reinforce the edges of a package in order to increase the BCT level. The edges are specifically in target for reinforcement since they are carrying most of the load when packages are stacked on top of each other. However, this kind of reinforcement is leading to an increased usage of material which implies a higher cost and heavier packages, which in the end may have an affect on profitability and the environment. Furthermore, the prior art solutions do not provide any good solution for providing curved shapes to fulfil the desire to introduce new curved shaped packages (e.g. rounded side panels or curved edges between side panels) in order to attract consumers, e.g. in the point of purchase situation.
For example, there are a number of known types of packages, for example so-called bliss containers, which are provided with reinforced corners in order to take high compressive loads, i.e. the container will get a higher stacking strength.
Cylindrical tube shaped paper packages exist, but these packages cannot be delivered as flat blanks, which means that the transportation of these packages is inefficient. With respect to recycling, cylindrical tubes may also be difficult to handle for a consumer once the content is consumed since they cannot be folded without damaging the material.
There is thus a need for an improved and visually attractive packaging construction that may constitute a cylindrically shaped package, a package with curved side panels or with rounded edges between adjacent side panels which can be transported as a flat blank. There is also a need for a packaging construction that minimises the use of material but still provides a high level of BCT and stability in transit.